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Frozen carbon dioxide templates porous materials

A new technique for creating porous materials has been developed. The researchers dissolved the sugar acetate 1,2,3,4,6-pentaacetyl ß-D-galactose (BGAL) in liquid CO2 within a stainless steel tube. They gradually lowered the tube into liquid nitrogen to freeze the CO2. Then they slowly warmed the tube in dry ice, releasing gaseous CO2 through a venting valve as it sublimed from the sample. The process converted the original BGAL powder into a solvent-free network of aligned tubular pores (shown). The researchers, who chose BGAL because it is highly soluble in CO2 and is solid at room temperature, report that the technique works with other sugar acetates. He notes that it could, in principle, be extended to CO2-soluble polymers. The authors believe their aligned porous structures could find application in tissue engineering, for example, as scaffolds for aligned nerve cell growth



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